1. I got a new desk chair today. Huzzah! It seems impossible to find cheap rolling task chairs with no arms. The ones I could find were either available only online (I want to sit in it first, TYVM) or $70, and no way am I going to pay that much for a chair at this point in my financials. But the Gaiam ball chair just wasn't doing it for me. I think if I could make myself sit in it properly, it would be okay, but I tend to straddle it more than actually sitting, and it was putting my sciatica-ridden hip even further out of whack. But I stopped at the local Staples on a whim today and found a task chair on clearance for $27! Woohoo!

2. If anyone is interested in buying said Gaiam ball chair, I'm taking offers. *G* I can keep using it as an exercise ball, but it's just taking up space, and if someone is hankering to try it, I have one for cheap.

3. Have been working on the novel rewrite. Open submissions at a small press that interests me starts on April 16, so I'm doing what amounts to a double-NaNo from March 13 - April 15 or so. Double, because the novel is going to be at least 100,000 words. If I'm lucky. The last draft clocked in somewhere around 200K, which is just too damn long for a debut novel. Fortunately it also featured much Pointless Walking (TM) and since I don't want people to call this "the next Belgariad!!!" I need to cut some of the walking out anyway.

4. Working on the novel was difficult to make myself do, when sitting at the desk wasn't very comfortable. Hence a great deal of my excitement at finding a cheap and appropriate chair.

5. I also bought Mom lots of seeds for her garden today. Can't believe it's been in the 80s all week. In MARCH. Geez, if this is how the spring starts, I am worried about how hot the summer will be. Last year the summer was insufferable and we broke a record for days over 100 or something like that. I would really prefer to stay in the low 90s if possible.

6. I got a coupon off a case of Dr Pepper 10, so I went ahead and bought it. Now I am torn, because their commercials offend me, but it really does taste good. I bought a case of Diet Dr Pepper to see if it tastes as good as I remember.

7. I read a novel recently published by a casual friend of mine. As in, a real publisher, a real novel, with advances and royalties and everything. And...I hate to say it, but the novel mostly sucked. I reeeeally wanted to like it. Fortunately she's a casual friend, really just on Facebook terms. So maybe if I don't mention having read it, she won't ask what I thought? :/

8. Had Little Caesar's for supper. Mmm. Happiness for $5.

9. Okay, there is no #9. I just wanted to keep listing.

You guys! I just finished megburden's book Northlander! It arrived in the mail today, and I immediately sat down on the front porch and started reading. And I didn't stop for three hours except for the ten minutes while I ate supper.

Now, I'd already been lucky enough to read the first few chapters online a couple months ago, so I knew some of the characters already. I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE these characters. The five Northland princes, Ellin the Southland 'witch-girl', Ellin's wonderful, loving father. The relationship between Ellin and her father was so great, it made me think about my own relationship with my father.

The plot is exciting, and each time I started thinking, "Oh, I see where this is going", I was proved wrong. Not that I thought that very often, anyway.

I don't want to talk too much about it, because I don't want to spoil you at all for the story. Let's just say that in the Northlands, all Southlanders are reviled. They're seen as lower than low because of their red hair and their predisposition to the healing arts. They're required to carry papers, and if a Southlander wears clothes, they're fit for nothing but burning afterwards. Yet Southlander Ellin and her father are the only people who have the ability to save the life of the Northlander king, and as healers, they feel compelled to try, even if they endanger themselves by breaking the law to do so. Because of Ellin's bravery, momentous events are set into motion, and danger threatens from several sources. She has to rely on her wits and the new talents that are awakening inside her to keep her alive--and she can't tell who to trust.

It's a riveting story, and I found it both emotionally moving and engaging. Am I biased? Well, of course, I've known megburden for a long time now, especially as internet friendships chart time. Does that mean I'm wrong? Of course not! I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will all go buy the book based on the strength of my recommendation.